Running vertical jump
The running vertical is what a marking contest, a rebound or a lineout actually asks for: a one-foot take-off out of movement. It is measured at the AFL Draft Combine on both legs for a reason — the difference between them matters.
The running vertical jump uses a short 4–6m approach and a one-foot take-off, measured against the same standing reach as your standing jump. It is measured off both legs at the AFL Draft Combine.
The gap between your standing and running jump is the useful number: a small gap means you are not converting horizontal speed into height.
The point of the test
Your ability to convert horizontal momentum into vertical height off one leg. It is a different quality to a standing jump and it trains differently.
Why it is in the Train Smart battery: What a marking or rebounding contest actually asks for.
How to run it
Short run-up, one-foot take-off, touch as high as you can. Measured off the same standing reach. Three attempts each leg, best counts.
- What you need
- A Vertec or a marked wall · A short run-up of 4–6m · A tape measure
What is a good score?
We are not going to publish a precise-looking table for this test. Reported ranges vary too much with protocol, equipment, level, age and sex for a single table to be honest, and most of the tables in circulation for it are uncited copies of each other.
The comparison that actually changes your training is against your own last score. That is not a consolation prize — it is what the monitoring literature supports, and it is what Train Smart does: re-test every four weeks under the same conditions and let the trend, not the percentile, drive the program. The papers behind that are here.
What people get wrong
Most of the variation between two tests is protocol, not fitness. These are the faults that make one score incomparable to the last.
- Measuring off the wrong standing reach.
- Same reach measurement as the standing jump — otherwise the two are not comparable and the gap between them, which is the interesting bit, is meaningless.
- Only testing the preferred leg.
- The combine measures both. A large left-right gap is a genuine finding and often the more actionable one.
- A run-up that is too long.
- Four to six metres. A long approach turns it into a different test and adds variability you cannot control.
How to actually move the number
The standing jump trains force. The running vertical trains the conversion — how much of your run-up you keep when you turn it upwards. That is a stiffness and timing quality, and it is trained with:
- single-leg bounding and hurdle hops, low volume, maximum intent;
- a short-approach jump practised as a skill, not as conditioning;
- single-leg strength — split squats and step-ups — so the take-off leg can hold the position it lands in.
The gap between your standing and running jumps is the diagnostic. A small gap means the conversion is the problem. A low number on both means you need to get stronger first.
The movements that build a running vertical jump
Testing tells you where you are; these are what change it. Each one carries the coaching cues, the sets and reps Train Smart prescribes it at, and ranked alternatives — and in the app the weight is calculated from your own last top set.
| Movement | Why it is programmed |
|---|---|
| Front Squat | Quad and trunk strength in the upright posture sport actually loads |
| Trap Bar Jump | A loaded jump — peak power output with no barbell skill to learn first |
| Romanian Deadlift | Posterior chain for driving legs |
| Bulgarian Split Squat | Single-leg power + change of direction |
| Jefferson Curl (light KB) | Loads spinal flexion and hamstring length together, then holds there — the range you land and bend in, owned rather than avoided |
| Loaded 90/90 — hold each side | Internal and external hip rotation held at end range — the range that runs out first in cutting sports |
| Trap Bar Deadlift | Foundational power output |
| Back Squat | Base strength to win the collision |
More: quad exercises · glute exercises
running vertical jump — questions
What is measured at the AFL Draft Combine vertical jump?
Why is my running vertical lower than my standing vertical?
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OpenKnow your number. Now train for it.
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